Flows into ETFs in the first quarter of this year have reached a record high, as investors play catch up following last year's poor performance.

Net new assets in exchange-traded products reached $67.3bn in the first quarter of this year, according to data from asset manager Blackrock. This is the highest level of inflows on record, up 57% on the same quarter last year when net new assets totalled $42.8bn. It is also 50% on the last three months of last year when inflows reached $44.8bn.